While I was reading those tweets a few weeks ago and other responses from MLB and its players over the investigation into the 2017 Astros, one tweet in particular caught my eye.

“I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.” - Alex Woods, LA Dodgers, P

This begs a major question, why do we rate different methods of cheating differently? Why are some methods of cheating considered forgivable or even normal, while others are considered so outrageous that they invoke lifetime bans from the Halls of Fame or from the sport altogether?
Let me lay out a few, well known, cheating incidents in MLB from the past 40 years.

• July 24, 1983 - George Brett hits a home run with a bat deemed illegal for having too much pine tar too far up on the bat. He is called out for violating rule Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book. It is later overturned by MLB. George Brett and the infamous bat are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• 1990s - Steroid Era in Baseball. Home Run records are broken numerous times. Players from all across the decade are later indicted and have since then been barred from the Hall of Fame by the BWAA. The Records remain intact.
• July 15, 1994 - The Chicago White Sox accuse Albert Belle of having a corked bat. MLB investigates by locking the bat up for the game to be examined laters. Cleveland Indians personnel attempt to steal and replace the bat but are caught doing so. Albert Belle is suspended 7 games for corking. After a go ahead home run in the 1996 ALDS, the Baltimore Orioles again try and accuse him of a corked bat. It was not.
• June 3, 2004 - Sammy Sosa is ejected, 2 months after hitting his 500th career home run, after his broken bat is found to be corked. Sosa takes responsibility, but claims it was his practice bat and never was meant to be used in game.
• 2017-2019 - Houston Astro’s win a World Series and 2 AL Titles, but are found to have been illegally recording signs and transmitting them to the hitters. Minor fines are issued, draft picks are removed, and personnel are fired. Titles remain intact.

All of these events were made famous simply because someone was caught cheating. Some claim it was unintentional, others clearly showed it was intentional and tried to cover it up. Some were severely punished, others were simply given a slap on the wrist, while others were forgiven. Why? How can we determine which level of cheating is worse?

Honestly, this is a question that can’t be answered fully from an athletic point of view, although for athletes and those involved in athletics, it is something we all somewhat understand. Over the last two weeks however, we looked at theological side to cheating and saw that cheating in all circumstances, is always sinful and an act of idolatry and blasphemy. So this raises bigger questions for us in Sports Ministry. If all cheating is sin, is all cheating the same? If all cheating is the same, should it be responded to the same?
Biblically we can find the answer to these questions.

“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:19

“For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker.” - James 2:10-11

Sin is sin. period. If we deny this aspect, even the it comes to cheating in Athletic competitions, we will lose credibility as ministers of the Gospel. All cheating is the same, and if all cheating is the same, then it needs to be responded to the same. And while it sounds harsh to consider a kid sneaking a couple extra bills in monopoly during family game night to be considered the same as Professional Athlete stealing a championship, it is another opportunity for us in ministry to show those in our care the true message of the gospel.

“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” - Matthew 5:43-45
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“Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” - James 2:12-13

We as Christians and Ministers of the Gospel have an awesome advantage, that the rest of the world does not. We are judged by the law of freedom and mercy. We are able to forgive the harshest of offenses, because we have been forgiven the harshest of offenses. All Cheating is Sin, and all cheating is the same and should be responded to the same. But the way we respond is one of Love, Mercy, and Freedom through Christ, not judgement. Next week, we will look more at the methodology of how we actually can practice this.

“I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.” - John 10:1

What does this verse have to with the 2017 Houston Astros? Maybe nothing or maybe a whole lot. There is one more piece of Theology we have to discuss before we move on to the Philosophical aspect of all this. It's one thing to just say cheating is sin, but we have to understand why it is sinful for us to truly be able to deal with this effectively. It's not enough to just call something sinful, and then leave it at that. What is it about cheating that makes it sinful?

The Theology of Sin, referred to as hamartiology coming from the Greek ἁμαρτία (hamartia) meaning “to miss the mark” and -λογια, (-logia,) to study. This begins to help us understand the idea of what sin overall is. Simply put, sin is missing God’s standard for living. St. Augustine describes sin to be “"a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal law of God.” But how exactly does cheating in terms of Athletic Competition fit into this definition? Does stealing signs with a camera really in opposition to the eternal law of God?

“I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.” - John 10:1

Again what does this verse have to do with cheating in Athletics? The word ἀλλαχόθεν (allachothen) is used only twice in scripture and both by Jesus, once here in John 10 and once again in Mark 1. It is an adverb that means “by another way.” In Mark, Jesus was encouraging his disciples to keep moving so that he could continue to preach, but here in John 10 it comes with a much deeper meaning.

Jesus says that the one that climbs in “by another way” is a thief and a robber. Later on in verse 10 he adds that these thieves “come only to steal and to kill and to destroy.” Last week we saw in Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve get cheating in the garden. They tried to achieve knowledge, sustenance, and power “by another way.” And as a result, their innocence was stolen, death became a reality, and destruction is everywhere. But more than that, there is an underlying issue that cheating as sin brings out, and to see this we have to turn back to Exodus 20.

The Ten Commandments, is one of the most well known passages in all of scripture. These 10 rules were the first of the Laws given out by God, that set the moral framework for the entire law to follow. If you could keep these 10 rules, righteousness was within your grasp.

1. No other gods
2. No Idols
3. No misuse of God’s name
4. Honor the sabbath
5. Honor your parents
6. Don’t murder
7. Don’t commit adultery
8. Don’t steal
9. Don’t slander
10. Don’t covet

Of these 10, three of these we would naturally apply to the general idea of cheating. Adultery, Stealing, and potentially Slander. However, that is not the commandment I want us to consider when we look at cheating as sin. It is the commandment that we all have broken daily, and the desire to break it makes us want to achieve our goals “by another way.”

“Do not have other gods besides Me.” - Exodus 20:2

This first commandment, which if we would follow, would make following all other commandments a natural response. This is the real underlying reason that cheating in any scenario, athletics included, is sinful. We want to be God. We have our goals, and we want to achieve all of them, regardless of what the goals of other people are or how it may affect them. We want to be God.
Look back at John 10.

“I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”  Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them. So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. - John 10:1-10

Next week we will begin to evaluate how we look at those that cheat, but it is important to remember today that Theology matters in Sports Ministry just as much as every other area of ministry, because like all the other areas ministry, we are in the business of redemption. While we, are driven by our sinful and human desire to become our own God “by climbing in some other way,” Jesus offers a simpler solution. He is the door, and says we can enter in to the One True God’s presence through Him. No climbing, just entering and following after him rather than our own desires. And in response, we see life rather death.

As news of the 2017 Astro’s Cheating Scandal Investigation came to light in January 2020, MLB players took to social media to express their opinions. Many of them are not suited to be posted on a ministry site, but the majority all shared the same sentiment. 

• “For the sake of the game I Hope this isn’t true.. if true, there needs to be major consequences to the players. That Completely ruins the integrity of the game!!!” - Cody Bellinger, LA Dodgers, 1B
• “I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming.” - Alex Wood, LA Dodgers, P
• “They shouldn’t feel comfortable looking at any of us in the eye let alone on the field and any other MLB player feel different, they can get it too.” - Mike Clevinger, Cleveland Indians, P
• “What happened to the term ‘cheaters never prosper’?” - Evan Longoria, SF Giants, 3B

Cheating always, understandably, brings a lot of emotion with it. You work hard at something and then suddenly it gets stripped away from you by no fault of your own, and by someone that didn’t deserve it. When emotions are so high, it becomes increasingly important for us as ministers to be sure we are responding appropriately, and more importantly, how do we as disciple makers respond redemptively? 

So for the next few weeks, I want us to look at Cheating and Cheaters in the context of the Three Tier Paradigm. This week we are going to look at the Theology of Cheaters and Cheating. What is it that God has to say? To fully understand what God has to say in this matter, we need to go all the way back to the beginning, Genesis chapters 1 & 2.

In the beginning, God creates everything with order and structure, and then places mankind in the garden to take care of it. God then gives them one rule,

“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” - Genesis 2:16-17

One rule to follow, and if they do, God provides them with everything they need to not only survive, but to rule over the rest of creation.  We know what happens next though, the serpent shows up and tells Eve 

“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” - Genesis 3:4-5

Look at what the serpent is really offering here, “you will be like God.” God already had given mankind the ability to do this. We were made in God’s image, given free access to Him, and had even been given authority to rule over Creation. But Satan offers another option to “achieve” the same status, even if it means violating the rules. This isn’t the only time we see this either. Look at what we see in Matthew 4:8-9.

“Again, the Devil took Him (Jesus) to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to Him, ‘I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.’”

Satan is talking to an exhausted and hungry Jesus. Jesus, who has been preparing for the last 40 days and nights with prayer and fasting in the desert to begin His Messianic ministry. A ministry that He knows results in Him being tortured and killed, in order that He can rightfully take His place as the King of Kings. And what does Satan offer Him? A quick and painless way out. He can have His kingdoms, but without the work, the torture, or the death.

Why is cheating a Theological issue, because cheating is sin. There is no other way to describe it. The idea that you can accomplish a goal, outside of the standards put forth by the creator, whether in life or athletics, is nothing short of sin.

This is important for us to remember in the Sports Ministry world, especially. As long as there is something to be gained, there will be people that try and cheat their way to the top, even within a Discipleship focused league. So rather than trying to deny it, we need to figure out what we are to do when it rears its ugly head, both with the temptation to cheat and the cheaters that we encounter. We will look at this more in the coming weeks, as we continue through the three tiers, and look at both the Philosophical and Methodological sides to this all too common temptation.

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This is Part 2 of a new series titled “Do Cheaters Never Prosper? - A Biblical Response” written by our Director of Digital Resource Development Andrew Fouts

About The Author
Normally behind the cameras and control boards of CSRM Resources, Andrew Fouts currently serves as the Director of Digital Resource Development for CSRM and works as an inner-city missionary through them within Northeastern Ohio. A licensed Pastor, Teacher, Coach and Administrator, Andrew has been developing and leading Christmanship centered programming for churches, schools, and teams over the past 6 years.

As I write this, the athletic world is focused on the postponement of March Madness 2020, the 2020 Olympic Games, Wimbledon 2020, the 2020 Masters tournament, and the seasons of MLB, NBA, and NHL. It is a weird time for every aspect of world culture that is unprecedented and unseen since WWII. However, if you were to go back just 3 weeks ago the Sports Headlines were filled with headlines about the Houston Astros Organization 2017 Championship Season, and the responses coming from Major League Baseball.

This had been coming for a long time, the Houston Astros had been somewhat of a laughing stock since their failed World Series run in 2005. In the 58 seasons that they have been apart of MLB they do not even have a .500 record (.496). Furthermore, in the decade between World Series appearances, they had only 4 .500 seasons, and 3 100+ loss seasons. Then in 2017, they won 100 games and the World Series. They had accomplished the ultimate underdog story. They went from the worst team in baseball to the best. But almost instantly, it was thrown into question. The NL Champion LA Dodgers had been suspicious from the moment the final out was recorded. The following year, the Cleveland Indians and NY Yankees had caught the Astro’s taking pictures of their dugout in the playoffs. Then in 2019, a former Astro’s pitcher leaked the information to Ken Rosenthal. Mike Fier’s blew the whistle on the sign stealing scheme that the Astro’s had used to give them an edge in 2017. They had been using the new cameras and monitors, meant for replay review, to steal signs. They relayed the signs through a coded banging on the clubhouse trashcans. The 2017 Astros were not the Disneyesque underdogs of MLB, but were in fact frauds that had cheated their way to a Championship.

The Astros responded immediately by firing the manager and general managers involved. Former players from the 2017 Astros lost their coaching positions as well. However, when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred took action, he seemingly did nothing. The Astros remain the 2017 Champions, only losing a few draft picks and $5 million. Astro’s players attempting to act sincere gave halfhearted apologies and unrepentant remarks.

This is not the first time in Athletics we have seen people or organizations trying to cheat the system, and it won’t be the last. Just in the past 30 years we have the examples of known and proven cheaters that look to have won.

• 2017 Astros - World Series Champions
  • Caught stealing signs with a camera.
  • Allowed to keep the World Series Championship
  • Protections put in place by MLB from teams retaliating
• 2015 New England Patriots - Super Bowl Champions
  • “DeflateGate”
  • Patriots balls were tampered with during AFC Championship Game
  • Not stripped of AFC Title
• 2007 New England Patriots - AFC Champions
  • Was caught filming opposing teams play calling
  • Was not stripped of AFC Title
  • Head Coach named Coach of the Year
• Steroid Era of Baseball
  • Records for Most Career and Single Season Records held by steroid user
  • 5 of the Top 15 Career Home Run Leaders held by a known Steroid User

How do we deal with this in our world of Sports Ministry? How do we as athletes, coaches, parents, pastors, and coordinators deal with the reality that in our fallen world, sometimes cheating does pay off.  What are we to do? How do we promote Christmanship in our athletes and programs, when Cheating Champions go on to glory? This is not a new question. We see throughout Scripture the Psalmist and Prophets struggle and pray through these types of questions:

• “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease?” - JEREMIAH 12:1
• “Look at them—the wicked! They are always at ease, and they increase their wealth. Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?” - Psalm 73:12-13
• The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping. The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure; God’s power provides this. - Job 12:5-6
• “So now we consider the arrogant to be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape.” - Malachi 3:15

When we witness the wicked prosper, what is our response? Throughout the Old Testament we see the prophets constantly asking God, “How can this happen?!” Why do I work so hard, and do what is right, only to be mistreated and overlooked? Meanwhile people that have done everything wrong are gaining more and honors and awards. What are we to do? To answer these questions we must go back to the source of moral integrity, Scripture. What is it that God has to say about all of this?